Subway or conduit for cable or electric railways



(No Model.)

T. C. CLARKE.

SUBWAY 0R OONDUIT FOB CABLE 011 ELEOTRIG RAILWAYS No. 317,302. PatentedMay 5, 1885..

WITNESSES INVENTOR ATTORNEY NrTn STATES PATENT Drrrcn.

THOMAS C. CLARKE, OF SEA BRIGHT, NEWV JERSEY.

SUBWAY OR CONDUIT FOR CABLE OR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 317,302, dated May 5,18.85.

Application filed August 20, 1884. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, TrroMAs O. CLARKE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Sea Bright, in the county of Monmouth, and the State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Subways orConduits for Cable or Electric Railways, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates, broadly, to constructing the foundations of suchrailways of concrete, beton, or other artificial stone, and forn1- ingthe subway or conduit of the same substance and in such a manner thatthe said foundation may be laid and the conduit built therein all in oneand the same operation.

By my system and mode of construction I can operate very quickly, andcan substitute a cable or an electric railway for an ordinary horse orstreet-car railway without disturbing or incommoding the traffic on thesame.

My invention relates more specifically to the formation of thefoundation and subway of concrete or other artificial stone, incombination with the metallic strips which I employ in constructing theslot of the conduit and supporting and retaining the roadway above saidconduit and between the slot and tracks on either side.

To these ends myinvention consists of theconcrete or other artificialstone laid at the proper depth, and formed with a conduit or tubecentrally between where the track-timbers are to be placed. Pairs ofstraight-rolled or cast-iron L-beams placed at suitable distances aparton both sides of the conduit constitute supports for the bars orrails,which are placed on the upper edges of the conduit, forming theslot or opening through which connection is made between the car and thecable in case of acable railway,or between the car or motor and theconductor in case of an electric railway.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents across-section, and Fig. 2 a detail perspective view, of my invention.

In the drawings, A represents the concrete, beton, or other artificialstone, extending to the proper depth and continued at the sidessufficiently to protrude beyond the timbers of the track.

B B are the tracktimbcrs, set rigidly in the concrete, and on them arelaid the rails 71 b.

C 0 represent L irons or beams laid in the concrete, as hereinafterdescribed. The line 00 w represents the stratum on which the L- beams GG find a seat.

D D are the slot bars or rails, preferably formed in two parts, asshown, for convenience of manufacture. These slot-bars are bound rigidlyto each other by means of the tie-pieces E E, as shown in detail in Fig.2. The tiepieces E E are L-shaped and are riveted to the L-beams O O,and are further provided with holdback rods or braces F F, which areriveted or bolted to the tie-piecesE E and extend downwardly andoutwardly to the L- beams (J C, to which they are similarly attached.These parts 0 O, E E, and F F may be formed of cast-iron in one piece,while the slot-bars D D are preferably formed of rolled iron.

The mode of construction is as follows: Ar"- ter removing the paving ofthe road a suitable excavation is made. This excavation may be modified,as far as the depth is concerned, by the nature of the soil, as also bythe size of the tube required. All below the line 00 a; can be changedat pleasure without interfering with my special design. XVhile theconcrete or other material is still plastic, I arrange in the middle andcentrally between the points where the tracks are to be placed removablemolding-centers curved on their outer face to give shape to and form thesides of the tube or conduit G. As these centers are removable, asstated, they can easily be shifted as soon as the concrete has assumedsufficient rigidity to warrant it. XVhen the concrete has been depositedas high as the line indicated bya: 00, I lay upon it, at suitabledistances apart and upon both sides of the tube G, the L-beams G G. Theslot-bars DD, attached to each other, as shown in Fig. 2, by thetie-pieces E E, are then set opposite each other in the upper portion ofthe conduit. The outer flange of the tie-pieces E E are then riveted tothe flange of the L-beam, and the holdback-bars F F are set in positionand suitably secured; or, if a casting is employed, one operation coversall. The concrete is then filled in as far up as the upwardly-extendingflange. The track-timbers B B are set into the concrete while it isstill plastic. Once set in the'proper place the concrete will retainthem and constitute a gage to hold them in a constant position relativeto each other. A third lot of concrete is then laid,within which thebacks of theslot-rails and their braces are embedded, as represented atB. The outer surface of this upwardly-projecting wall or mass ofconcrete B is made vertical, so that the weight of the paving-stones orthe loads which they receive will not fall upon the inclined backs ofthe slot-rails. This wall B is also beneficial in forming a firm supportfor the horizontal portion of the s1ot-rail. The tracks may then be laidand the paving replaced. 7

It will be seen that as the track-rails will'be rigidly held in place inregard to each other they will also remain at a constant distance oneach side of the slot or opening of the conduit; hence the concrete, asI employ it,will not only form a foundation for the railway, but willalso constitute the walls of the subway or conduit, a gage for thetracks and slot-rails, as well as form a simple and economical means forbinding and retaining the whole in a single, integral, and substantialstructure.

Having thus described my invention,wha-t I claim as new therein, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A foundation for cable or electric railways, constructed ofartificial stone and having the subway or conduit formed therein, asdescribed, in combination with the track-timbers, which are embeddedtherein and held at the proper distance asunder thereby, as set forth.

2. The combination, with afoundation constructed of concrete or otherartificial stone eX- tending clear across the road-bed and having asubway or conduitformed therein, as described, of the track-timberssupported by and embed ded directly in said concrete,whereby they aremaintained at the proper distance asunder, as explained.

3. In a cable or electric railway, a foundation constructed ofartificial stone and having a conduit formed therein, as described,incombination with the slot-rails rigidly secured to said foundation andhaving their backs embedded therein, substantially as shown anddescribed.

4. In combination with a foundation constructed of concrete or otherartificial stone, and having the conduit formed therein, as described,the track-timbers and slot-rails supported thereby and embedded therein,substantially as shown and described.

5. In a cable or electric railway, a subway or conduit constructed ofconcrete or other artificial stone, in combination with the slotrailssupported and embedded in said concrete and constituting an integralpart of the walls of said conduit, as set forth.

6. In a cable or electric railway, a foundation constructed of concreteor other artificial stone and having the subway or conduit formedtherein, as described, in combination with the track-timbers andslot-rails embedded therein, thewhole constituting a permanent integralstructure, substantially as described.

7. In a cable or electric railway, a foundation constructed of concreteor other artificial stone, having a conduit or subway formed therein, incombination with the L-shaped anchor-beams embedded in said concrete,and the slot-rails secured to said anchor-beams and having their backsalso embedded in the concrete, as and for the purposes set forth.

8. In a cable or electric railway, a subway or conduit having its lowerportion formed en tirely of artificial stone and its upper portion oropening lined with metallic plates or slotrails embedded in the concreteand forming an integral part of the wall of said conduit, as set forth.

9. In a cable or electric railway, the combination of the conduit formedof artificial stone, the metallic slot-rails set into the stone, theL-beams arranged substantially as described, and riveted to theslot-rails, and pro vided with the holdback rods for strengthen ing thesupport of said rails, as shown and described.

10. In a cable or electric railway, a foundation formed of concrete orother artificial stone with a subway or conduit formed of the samematerial, in combination with the track-timbers set into saidconcrete,and the slot-rails, L- beams, and tie-pieces arranged on bothsides of the subway and in the concrete, the whole forming a single andsolid structure, as set forth and shown.

THOMAS C. CLARKE.

W'itnesses:

HERBERT KNIGHT, F. W USTEMANN.

